Hotel & Travel Contracts Lead - Crawley Job details Salary: Competitive Hours: Full Time Location: VHQ, Crawley Contract: Permanent Closing Date: 29th November 2024 At Virgin Atlantic Airways, we believe that everyone can take on the world, and it's our vision to become the most loved travel company. As we embark on this next exciting stage of our journey, we're harnessing our spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation to challenge the status quo. In a nutshell Reporting to the Manager - Planning and Analysis, you will be responsible for the management and Service Level Agreement (SLA) delivery of the hotel and transport providers we use to support the Pilot and Cabin Crew Operation. Day to day You will be responsible for ensuring hotel and transport arrangements are in place at each of the locations served by Virgin Atlantic, ensuring value for money, internal stakeholder satisfaction and delivery to contract. You will work closely with a number of business areas and collaborators both internally and externally to ensure a smooth and efficient operation is upheld. These will include the Hotel and Travel Operations team, Procurement, Finance, Security, and our Industrial Partners along with hoteliers and transport providers. You will take an active part/lead with senior stakeholders to ensure the service provision balances crew satisfaction, cost, security, and operational deliverability. The role holder will be Virgin Atlantic's representative externally and with senior stakeholders (to Senior Vice President level) internally. As such, you will be required to participate in a variety of on-site and off-site meetings to discuss a range of topics, including negotiating new contracts and developing new and existing relationships. You will ensure budgets are adhered to and all activities within your team are in line with company policy and documented. About you As Lead - Hotel & Travel Contracts, you will need to be a forward thinker, excellent at cultivating and building relationships. You will likely have a background in the aviation industry with strong operational knowledge/experience. If this sounds like you, and you meet or exceed the criteria below, we'd love to hear from you: Proven experience working with third parties to deliver a high-quality outcome. Knowledge of hotel contracting and delivery to SLA. Evidence of working with challenging stakeholders. Mathematics and English to at least GCSE Level 6 / Grade B or equivalent. Good understanding of airline operations, ideally with an understanding of airline hotel/transport contracting. Able to build exceptionally strong relationships both internally and externally, including with senior figures. Able to communicate clearly and concisely, both verbally and written. Able to adapt to different cultures and approaches. Excellent organisation and forward planning skills. Strong strategic planning capability and the ability resolve conflicts and influence stakeholders. Comfortable with budgets, contracts with good attention to detail. Able to remain calm under pressure. Strong analytical skills and able to draw insights from data. Be yourself - Our differences make us stronger Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world - no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong. To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you'd like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, (recruitmentfly.virgin.com) feeling confident that we've got your individual considerations covered. Our recipe for leadership At Virgin Atlantic, our leaders empower teams to thrive through collaboration, innovation, and excellence. Explore our Leadership Recipe and discover the 20 core ingredients that define what it means to lead with us, driving our mission to be the most loved travel company and achieve sustainable profit. Want to learn more? Click here